DUBLIN – Horizon Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: HZNP), in partnership with MIT Solve, a marketplace for social impact innovation, today announced it has created a first-of-its-kind annual global innovation challenge called The Horizon Prize focused on speeding diagnosis and care for people impacted by rare disease. Each year, The Horizon Prize will pose a unique challenge question to encourage innovators and entrepreneurs to try to solve a problem associated with the rare disease community.
“Horizon is proud to collaborate with Solve to bring together the global innovation ecosystem to identify creative solutions that will significantly improve the patient journey for those living with rare diseases,” said Tim Walbert, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Horizon. “As a leader in rare disease, Horizon is committed to creating and supporting out-of-the-box, innovative initiatives that have the potential to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.”
The Horizon Prize will award up to $150,000 in prize funding each year for up to two solution teams each year from a pool of more than 138,000 visionaries, academics and inventors in over 137 countries. This year’s question, “How can technology help people with rare diseases get the right care faster and more accurately?” seeks solutions that (1) leverage big data and analytics to improve the detection and diagnosis of rare diseases, (2) promote community and connection among rare disease patients and their advocates and (3) unlock collaboration by patients, scientists and health care providers to improve patient outcomes.
There are more than 7,000 rare diseases affecting over 400 million people worldwide. People who have a rare disease often find themselves underserved by health care systems. An estimated four in 10 patients experience initial misdiagnoses. Some estimates indicate that patients may wait nearly five years and see an average of seven different health care providers before their condition is accurately diagnosed.
The Horizon Prize will be powered by Solve, a marketplace for social impact innovation with a mission to solve world challenges.
About Horizon
Horizon is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines that address critical needs for people impacted by rare, autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases. Our pipeline is purposeful: we apply scientific expertise and courage to bring clinically meaningful therapies to patients. We believe science and compassion must work together to transform lives. For more information on how we go to incredible lengths to impact lives, please visit www.horizontherapeutics.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
About MIT SOLVE
Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a mission to solve world challenges. Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation. Through open innovation Challenges, Solve finds incredible tech-based social entrepreneurs all around the world. Solve then brings together MIT’s innovation ecosystem and a community of Members to fund and support these entrepreneurs to help them drive lasting, transformational impact. Join Solve on this journey at solve.mit.edu.
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